


Close Your Eyes (Bare Your Teeth)

by Voidfish



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Gen, Gore, Horror, Parasites, Possession, cannibalism but its not technically cannibalism, very fucked up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-15 07:51:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13608885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Voidfish/pseuds/Voidfish
Summary: Something is taking out the IPRE from the inside...something hungry.





	Close Your Eyes (Bare Your Teeth)

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE MIND THE TAGS!
> 
> This is out of my usual writing style but my friend wanted TAZ horror/slasher fic with a killer on the inside because she's goth and I was happy to oblige. 
> 
> This is kinda a murder mystery, so let me know who you thought the murderer was!
> 
> If I need to add more tags, please let me know, I want you all to be safe.

Lucretia closes her eyes, letting her hands sketch the figure in front of her without acknowledging it. Davenport had tried to stop her from documenting this, but she felt it was best. 

It was still sickening, to see Magnus in this state. 

She was the one who had found him, earlier that morning, on her way to the kitchen to make tea before watching the sunrise. Sometimes she liked to sketch, sit and practice drawing birds. She liked to be reminded of the stillness of life.

Magnus’s body was still against the floor. The blood pooled against his side, leaking from the teeth marks on his stomach. His eyes were glazed and half opened, his mouth frozen in shock. He looked so young, like he always did dead, but he had never before looked so vulnerable. 

“Lucretia, please,” Davenport said next to her, attempting to carefully take the pencil from her hand. 

“He’ll want to know,” she mutters to herself. “Next year, he’ll want to know, I have to.”

“He’s not going to want to see those drawings,” he says. He sounds so tired. Lucretia wonders if Davenport will be able to sleep tonight. She will not. “We have more important matters to attend to, anyways.”

Lucretia snaps at that, head turning quickly to face her captain. “What is more important right now then Magnus?”

“Holy fucking shit,” a voice exclaims from the doorway.

“Cleaning him up before anyone else has to see this,” Davenport sighs. “That’s what’s most important right now.”

Taako and Lup enter the room, their eyes wide. “Did someone have Maggie as a midnight snack?” Taako asks. Lup punches him at that. “What? Like, I’m traumatized as hell by this, but I need to know who’s a cannibal.”

“None of us ate Magnus,” Davenport says, frustration showing in his voice.

“Who’s eating who - ah, shit,” Merle says as he enters the room. On seeing Magnus’s body he looks at the faces gathered before turning to Davenport. “Do you want me to try a spell?”

“He’s already dead, Merle,” Lucretia explains. She’s not sure if Merle is joking or if he truly doesn’t understand the line between being a cleric and a necromancer.

“That’s Barold’s jurisdiction.” Taako says. Lup nods at that, but says nothing.

In perfect timing, Barry Bluejeans walks into the room, sees the gore on display, and promptly vomits.

“Shit Barold, someone’s gotta clean that up,” Lup responds, and Taako high fives her.

Davenport clears his throat. “I think the bigger issue right now is the cannibalized crew member.”

“Yeah, I got a question,” Merle says, raising his hand. “Isn’t it only cannibalism if another human ate him?”

“That is the definition of cannibalism,” Barry moans from where he’s sitting down.

“Fine. The chewed up Magnus. Someone - or something - had Magnus for dinner. Anyone have anything to confess?” Davenport looks at Merle.

“What,” the dwarf exclaims, “I joke about eating people, sure, but I’d never eat a friend!”

“None of us would have done this,” Lucretia says. Five pairs of eyes turn to her, and she swallows. “Something must have gotten on board the ship last night.”

“You think it’s still on board?” Taako asks.

Barry pales. “I’m gonna be sick again,” he mumbles to himself.

Davenport grimaces. “First let’s deal with the body,” he says, “and then we’ll figure out what happened.”

***

The team works together to dig Magnus a proper grave. They work quick, paranoid to be on the ground where dangerous may have come for Magnus, but they won’t let him be put to rest shoddily, either.

“I don’t trust this situation,” Barry tells Lucretia quietly, as the two grab shovels on the ship. “Those teeth marks - they were humanoid. Not like any animal on this planet. And we haven’t found any elves, or dwarves, or humans, or whatever.”

“You think this was an inside job?” Lucretia asks.

Barry shakes his head. “I don’t know. It’s odd, s’all.”

***  
They’ve been on the planet for six months with no problems. It’s an empty world, as far as they know, devoid of intelligent life. They’ve had no conversations this cycle with outsiders, no friends or foes. Instead they’ve explored the nature.

There’s insects, similar to the cockroaches and mosquitoes on their homeworld, pests that buzz and fly towards them as the seven walk along a swamp scouring for the light.

It’s the parasites, this cycle, that feel like home.

***  
They shut the doors of the ship that night, instead choosing to hover over the planet in fear that another creature may sneak on the ship. 

“I’ll keep watch tonight,” Davenport reassures her as the rest of the crew heads to bed. He has a tired smile on his face. He’s always the one to shoulder the most pressure, the most blame, when someone dies. Lucretia can see this cycle is being especially hard on him.

“I’ll come visit,” she tells him, “keep you company.”

Davenport shakes his head. “You don’t have to do that, Lucretia.”

She smiles in response. “It’s really fine, Captain. I don’t think any of us should be alone about now.”

***  
At three in the morning Lucretia wakes fitfully. She had stayed up with Davenport for a few hours, but eventually he had dragged her to bed. She wonders if he had finally managed to sleep himself.

Lucretia gets out of bed, stretches, and then gets up to make some tea and visit her captain.

As she approaches the kitchen, Lucretia hears an odd noise. It’s soft, like raindrops. It’s constant. It’s coming from the cockpit.

“Davenport?” She calls. There’s no response. She creeps closer to the door. She can hear each floor board beneath her, feel the weight of every step as she moves slowly towards the sound. She opens the door.

The chair is facing away from her. The room is dark, but filled with the smell of decay. Lucretia can feel herself beginning to panic.

“Davenport, please,” she begs as she takes her next step. She sees one of his hands gripping the chair as she approaches. She takes another step, and looks down to see the pile of blood. 

She moves past the body of her captain, running towards the base of the ship. She finds Barry’s room, and doesn’t even bother knocking. She races in, ignoring his confused mumbling.

“He’s dead,” she whispers, as Barry carefully takes her and places her on his bed. “Davenport’s dead.”

***

“It’s Merle, right?” Taako asks. Barry and Lucretia were unsure at first who to tell about their theory, but they could always trust the twins.

“He makes jokes about eating people,” Lup adds, “but he wouldn’t, would he?”

“I don’t think,” Barry adds, “whoever is doing this is one of us.”

“There’s no one else who could have done it,” Lucretia reminds him.

Barry shakes his head. “Parasites. The creatures of this world, we don’t know what they’re capable of. What if-”

“Barry,” Lup tells him, “I love you, but that’s bullshit.’

“I’m with Lup,” Taako says. “There’s no evidence. I say Merle got too hungry.”

***

“Creesh,” Lup says, as the group leaves. “Can we talk?”

“What’s wrong,” Lucretia asks. “Besides this whole situation?”

Lup laughs. “Well, that’s actually what I needed to talk to you about.” She looks around, checking who could overhear, before leaning in. “I’m worried about you,” she says, eyes painfully bright. She’s like a supernova. Lucretia knows she should, but she just can’t look away. 

“It’s a lot to see your friends die,” Lucretia nods.

Lup laughs bitterly at that. “Don’t I know it.” She straightens up a little and smiles. “Take care of yourself, okay?” As she leaves, Lucretia hears the elf whisper “And keep an eye out for Barry.”

***

“I’m not sleeping anywhere near Merle tonight,” Taako warns. 

Lucretia nods. She figured that her plan to get everyone together and keep a watch on each other wouldn’t work for this very reason. “I understand that, Taako, which is why you can stay awake while he’s awake. But we need to keep an eye on each other.”

“No more death,” Barry adds. He’s been in his lab often, straying away from the rest of the group. Lucretia doesn’t know what to think about Lup’s suggestion. She had never said that Barry was the culprit, simply to keep an eye out.

And wasn’t there something perfect, something literary about that? About the awkward farm boy as the murderer? 

Lucretia has to remind herself this isn’t some story she’s writing for Creative Fiction.

“Don’t you have a death kink,” Lup asks, and Barry splutters.

“No,” Taako groans, “Barry, no, have you been fucking the corpses?”

“What?” Barry asks, and the conversation quickly divulges into theories on Barry’s necrophilia fetish. Lucretia wants to relax and enjoy the normalcy and simplicity of the crew, but there’s something in the back of her head keeping her on edge. As Taako and Barry argue and shout, she turns to Lup, who nods at her. At least she’s not alone in that.

***

They fall asleep in that pile, and they wake up in the same pile.

Lucretia is startled from her sleep by the scent of rotting flesh.

She jolts awake, crawling from the pile of dozing bodies to see Merle.

His neck has been ripped open, blood pooling at his collarbone. His eyes are closed, his face peaceful, as if he were sleeping. Lucretia backs up, slowly, looking back to the pile, where Lup and Taako are lying. Barry is missing. 

Taako and Lup are curled against each other, a delicate piece of Taako’s hair stuck in Lup’s finger, Lup’s nose pressed against Taako’s cheek.

Lucretia sneaks to the kitchen, and grabs a knife. She knows what she has to do.

***

She finds Barry in the lab, huddled against the corner. There’s blood on him. He glances up, lazily at her.

“I know what you’ve done,” she says to him. He blinks at that, lethargic and slow. There’s something about his movements that are off. There’s something about this whole situation that’s wrong. Lucretia doesn’t know anymore.

“And what’s that,” he asks, his voice rough as though he had just woken up. 

“Had our crew as a midnight snack,” she spits at him. His face turns from confusion to fear.

“Did you leave him alone?” Barry begins to move, but Lucretia gestures with the knife to stay back.

“I don’t know what you’re -”

“Lucretia,” Barry cuts her off. He removes his hand from his stomach to show a wound and a bite mark. “It’s not me, it’s-”

“Shit,” Lucretia realizes, running towards the room she had abandoned. Barry tries to run beside her, but she quickly loses him.

She enters to a feral sight.

Lup - no, whatever is maneuvering Lup’s body - curls over Taako, teeth ripping into flesh. Taako doesn’t scream, doesn’t do anything but shiver.

Lucretia doesn’t speak, but Lup hears her approach. She lets go of Taako to turn.

The blood disappears from her face, quickly absorbing into her skin. So that’s how she got rid of evidence. 

“Lu-” Lucretia doesn’t wait to attack, throwing her body on the creature. She stabs the chest, pushes hard against the ribcage. She misses the heart, she can tell, but the creature still screams in agony.

Lup turns and coughs something up. It’s small, black, and rough in consistency. It looks like a pebble, almost, except for the fact that it starts to scurry away.

A wave of necrotic energy hits the creature before she can move.

She turns and Barry’s there, grinning in triumph.

“Huh,” he says, voice slurred. “Can’t believe that worked.”

And he collapses.

“Barry,” Lucretia calls, but there’s no response. She tries again, and yet he still won’t reply. She knows what that means but she can’t help it. She calls his name. It becomes less of a word and more of a chant.

“Luce,” Taako says, “he’s dead.”

He looks awful, skin too pale, a gaping wound on his cheek, but he’s alive and Lucretia wants to keep him that way. “I’ll get you a healing potion. I’m sorry, I should have known.”

“Everyone’s allowed their time to be a dumbass, Creesh,” Taako says, patting her on the shoulder. 

She goes to leave when a wet cough stops her. 

“Hey,” Lup says, voice soft, “the fuck just happened?”

“You were a cannibal for a bit there, Lulu,” Taako says, stroking her hair, “but I forgive you.”

“I don’t even get to remember eating people,” Lup jokes. Lucretia goes and takes her hand. Taako takes the other.

“Close your eyes,” Lucretia says. Lup obliges. “We’ll see you next year.”

For Lucretia and for Taako, it’s a lonely year.


End file.
